2 weeks Ago
It wasn’t overly pretty, but the Toronto Maple Leafs completed a perfect weekend with a 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks. The Leafs were outshot 11-6 in the first but took a one-goal lead into the intermission thanks to a highlight-reel goal from Max Domi. Mitch Marner and Leo Carlsson exchanged goals in the middle of the second, and Craig Berube’s squad maintained a one-goal lead until Anaheim’s Sam Colangelo scored a power-play goal two minutes into the third.
Steven Lorentz scored the game-winner off a perfect deflection with 8:25 to play. Advertisement Toronto didn’t spend enough time in the offensive zone to warrant an A, but there were enough positives in the second half of a back-to-back to earn them a B. Marner had a quality shot on a two-on-one 20 seconds in, and while he wasn’t able to capitalize, he made no mistake on his breakaway chance in the second.
Marner created the breakaway himself by blocking a point shot and he made Dostál look like a college goaltender. He made another beautiful play to dance around Owen Zellwger in the late second, but couldn’t beat the post. Woll bounced back nicely from a tough start against the Sharks by stopping all 11 shots he faced in the first period.
Carlsson’s point shot beat him in the second, but there was plenty of traffic in front and Woll simply couldn’t see it. It’s tough to blame Woll for Colangelo’s tying goal, too. Although many of the shots were of the low-danger variety, he finished with an impressive 29 saves on 31 shots to pick up the win.
Knies appeared to open the scoring three minutes in, but it was called back for a missed high-sticking infraction earlier in the play. He also made a strong play to take the puck to the net while on the power play in the early third, which led to an A+ scoring chance for Matthews. He was called for roughing in the early third, but his team killed it off, and Knies thanked them by setting up Tavares for a quality chance once he got out of the box.
His line was Toronto’s best, and he came awfully close to scoring a pretty goal in the final minutes. oh wow Knies almost had a highlight-reel dagger pic.twitter.
com/zLcskcxmAf — Omar (@TicTacTOmar) March 31, 2025 His line was quiet for the majority of the game, but he scored a beauty in the final minute of the opening frame to open the scoring. Domi made a gorgeous move to dance around Radko Gudas and fired a perfect backhand shot to beat Dostál. Domi dropped the gloves with Gudas last season, and putting Gudas in the highlight reel added insult to injury.
the deke, the dodge, the backhand pic.twitter.com/TnDOI05OfI — Omar (@TicTacTOmar) March 31, 2025 Their minutes were incredibly boring until Lorentz gave his team the lead with eight minutes left in the third.
Holmberg was excellent both on the forecheck and in the cycle ahead of the scoring play, and Kämpf picked up a primary assist thanks to an excellent tip by Lorentz. Benoit made a strong defensive play in the second to break up a three-on-one rush. The play ended up being a major turning point, as Marner went down the other way and scored seconds later.
Advertisement The Ducks failed to generate many scoring chances during their minutes. They didn’t do anything flashy, but it felt like a completely different game when this pair was on the ice. He was excellent in the opening minutes, setting up Marner for an excellent chance on a two-on-one, then doing the same for Knies for a disallowed goal on his next shift.
He then saved a goal with a strong back-check five minutes in. Matthews wasn’t quite as effective in the final forty, but did hit the post in the early third. McMann showed off his speed on the power play in the early second, completely blowing by the opposing defender, and Ekman-Larsson had an A+ chance on the doorstep as a result.
Both of these defencemen were just okay. You’d like to see a little bit more out of both of them offensively, but they were both solid defensively. Järnkrok picked up a primary assist on the game’s opening goal by gaining the line, dishing it off to Domi and driving to the net to cause havoc.
His line was quite opportunistic, as they didn’t spend a ton of time in the offensive zone. His line failed to create much, and his best chance came from the slot after his team killed off a penalty in the early third. Tavares’ face-off ability impressed on the power play, and while he failed to pick up a point, he was at least solid defensively.
Carlo got off to a tough start, getting danced around in the defensive zone five minutes in. His captain made a strong defensive play to help prevent a goal, but Carlo ended up with a penalty on the play. He was on for more scoring chances against than Berube would like.
Nylander was invisible through forty, other than when he took a holding penalty at the end of the first. He just missed setting up Tavares for a goal on the power play in the early third, but ultimately didn’t look as dangerous as he usually does. Advertisement He picked up a secondary assist on Domi’s goal, but he got away with a giveaway moments earlier.
He was on for a goal against halfway through the second, and while Carlsson scored on a point shot, Laughton deserves some blame for throwing a grenade at Tanev seconds earlier. It feels like he’s on for a goal against or two every game. Game Score What’s next? Heading home to play the Florida Panthers on Wednesday at 7:30 p.
m. on Sportsnet. (Top photo of Max Domi and Radko Gudas: Ric Tapia / Getty Images).
